Customer Reviews

Christian Reflections

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lewis's shorter works were generally originally composed as speeches or as articles for periodicals. Various sets of them were collected and published in book form both during his life and after his death. Trying to determine what works are in what collections is difficult - most works appear in more than one collection, some works appear under more than one title, and some collections appear under more than one title.

To aid readers, in this review I've listed the works in this collection, with notes indicating other collections they have appeared in. Where a work has appeared under more than one title, I give both titles separated by a slash.

Table of Contents:

Preface, by Walter Hooper (4)

"Christianity and Literature" (1), (2), (4)

"Christianity and Culture" (2), (4)

"Religion: Reality or Substitute" (2), (4)

"On Ethics" (2), (4)

"De Futilitate" (2), (4)

"The Poison of Subjectivism" (2), (4)

"The Funeral of a Great Myth" (2), (4)

"On Church Music" (2)

"Historicism" (2), (3), (4)

"The Psalms" (2), (4)

"The Language of Religion" (2), (4)

"Petitionary Prayer: A Problem Without an Answer" (2), (4)

"Fern-Seed and Elephants" / "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism" (2), (3), (4)

"The Seeing Eye" / "Onward Christian Spacemen" (2), (4)

Notes:

(1) also published in "Rehabilitations and Other Essays"

(2) also published in "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces"

(3) also published in "Fern-Seed and Elephants and Other Essays"

(4) also published in "The Seeing Eye and Other Selected Essays from Christian Reflections"

Recommendations:

If you are interested in Lewis's shorter works, my best advice is to get "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", which, as of the time of this writing, is available from Amazon UK but not Amazon US. That collection consists of about 130 short works by Lewis. The works in that collection are mostly, but not exclusively, Christian.

If your interest in Lewis's shorter works is restricted to those on Christianity, and your budget or enthusiasm does not run to "Essay Collection and Other Short Pieces", then my second-best advice is to get any or all of the following (they don't overlap significantly, and between them they include most of Lewis's shorter Christian writings):

"God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics"*

"The World's Last Night and Other Essays"

"Christian Reflections"

"The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses"

* Be careful - there is a UK Fontana paperback lurking about called "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology" that is substantially shorter than the "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" collection. A full version of "God in the Dock - Essays on Theology and Ethics" was published in the UK under the title "Undeceptions - Essays on Theology and Ethics".

These fourteen essays (with an introduction by Walter Hooper) are about a variety of topics related to Christianity, but not necessarily ABOUT Christianity. My favorite of the bunch is "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism", a thumping rejoinder to those whose misapplication of form and redaction criticism (e.g. Bultmann or Schweitzer or Dibelius) to the gospels prevents them from making sound judgments about the life of Christ. His essay "Petitionary Prayer: A Problem Without an Answer" is brutally honest, ending as it does in a questioning uncertainty about the matter, while his essay "The Psalms" is helpful in guiding the reader to an understanding of how to view that portion of scripture. Some essays may strike one reader's fancy less than another's, but there is plenty here for most people to find AT LEAST one or two they greatly enjoy. I liked all of them and found most of them very helpful to my own reflections on life.

In this age where serious thought is scorned, this work by Lewis shows just how far we've fallen. His clear, concise theology shines through in everything he writes, and this collection is no exception. Even in his response to his critics, Lewis demonstrates a careful consideration that deserves praise.

Just the essay on church music makes the book a worthy investment. It appears that Lewis was not a personal fan of much church music that he experienced. However, he saw the purpose of church music was to glorify God. His insight about true spirituality of the learned and unlearned church musician is priceless. Here he provides a challange for all to consider the essence of our spiritual music offered to God.

Other reviewers have made a list of the articles/essays in this book, so I won't re-list them here. However, I would like to point out that for me, this was a useful collection of essays. An essay or article that is useful for one person may not be that way for another, but let me point out what I found useful:

1. His discussion of Christianity and culture. He shows how being cultured is "nice but not necessary" to live a good Christian life. He also shows that "culture" can be a part of the life that can be converted as well as the person him/herself.

2. The Psalms. They are beautiful, and they're poems that can be most easily translated into other languages, as Hebrew poetry is based on a repetition of ideas. He tackles the sometimes very strong language of some of the Psalms, and answers them quite well.

3. Petitionary Prayer. He admits his own confusion and he even ends the essay admitting he's still confused. That's honesty for you!

4. Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism. It gives what I think is a sound criticism concerning the criticism of the texts of the Bible and using his own background as a literary scholar, shows it for the speculation that it often is.

These are only four I've pointed out. Actually, I appreciated all of them, even when I disagreed on some points -- which aren't important enough for me to even mention right now. You may have other favorites. And there may be parts you won't agree with, either. (Heck, I don't always agree with MYSELF!) :)

However, you'll find it very much worth reading and full of deep insight. In fact, my copy is worn out and I need to get a new one.

I am about halfway through the book, it is very thought provoking. The nice thing about this book is that you can pick and choose which article (chapter) to read or reread.

Though by his own admission, Lewis is no theologian, his essays and speeches on the Christian views of various topics will be valuable to any Christian reader. Is this work as cohesive as "Mere Christianity" or as witty as "Screwtape"? Certainly not; however, this work does two things: (1) It broadens our understanding of Lewis' thought. (2) It provides us with deep probing thoughts on the matters addressed.

In this work, Lewis deals with a Christian approach to literature and aesthetics, an apologetic for the spiritual nature of Christian worship, a discussion of the topic of ethics and whether a "Christian" ethic should be taught to the world, an apologetic response to those who claim that the purpose of nature is merely futile, an attack on post-modern subjectivity, an attack on the theory of evolution and a suggestion on how others should do the same, a discussion on Church Music, a debate on how Christians should view history, an analysis of some imprecatory Psalms, a discussion of the connection between emotions and thought in language, a difficult question on how Christians should pray (left unresolved), a blistering attack on higher criticism, and an apologetic reply to the Russian cosmonaut who stated that he had been in space and did not see God.

I am certain that there are other works that include much more of the shorter writings of Lewis, but this succinct set of works will prove immensely valuable to the reader.